An atheist blogger has been murdered in a horrifying attack in Bangladesh - the fourth secular writer to be killed by suspected Islamist militants this year.

Niloy ‘Neel’ Chowdhury’s hands were cut off and he was beheaded in his home in the country’s capital, Dhaka, on Friday.

The well-known atheist blogger, whose pen name was Niloy Neel, was heavily involved in the secularist movement as an organiser for the Science and Rationalist Association Bangladesh. He worked for an NGO and recently completed his Master’s degree in Philosophy.

Niloy Neel's wife following the blogger's murder

Imran H Sarkar, head of the Bangladesh Blogger and Activist Network, told the BBC: “He was the voice against fundamentalism and extremism and was even a voice for minority rights - especially women's rights and the rights of indigenous people.”

His death is the fourth in a wave of killings to affect Bangladesh after the prominent humanist writer Avijit Roy was murdered in February, followed by the killings of bloggers Washiqur Rahman and Ananta Bijoy Das in March and May respectively.